Article gauging and sorting mechanism



July 1', 1952 1.. SALFISBERG ARTICLE GAUGING AND SORTING MECHANISM 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 3, 1950 July 1952 1.. SALFISBERG 2,601,920

ARTICLE GAUGING AND SORTING MECHANISM Filed Feb. 3. 1950 I sSheets-Sheet 2 July 1, 1952 v L. SALFISBERG ARTICLE GAUGING AND SORTINGMECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 3, 1950 Patented July 1, 1952ARTICLE GAUGING AND SORTING- MECHANISM Leroy. L. Salfisberg, SouthOrange; N. J as'signor. Ito .Ivers-Lee Company, Newark, N. J., a'c'0rpo-' ration of Delaware Application February. ,3,1950,Setial=Na14a03g1 I 5 Claims. (01. ace- 83 lhis invention -relatesin; general; to apparatus for: feedingarticles, particularly smallarticles such. as tablets, wafers or thelike, from a hopper toianydesired point, for example to'mechanism for packaging the articles; andmore particularly the invention contemplates a machine. of the typedescribed in my United States Patent No. 1,475,222.

Machines. of this. type include a hopper. from which the articlesare fedby gravity into adrum wherethe. articles are agitated and directed to adischarge chute.

= Erime, objectsof-the present invention are. to provide novel; andimproved means for agitating the articles in the drunrsoas to.facilitate their deposit intothe discharge chute; and thus to oscillatethe drumbacl; and-forth about its axis .so asto more expeditiously andaccurately. direct the ar ic i t he d sc arge-c te- Another object oftheinvention isl to provide n uc a ar c eedin apperei snov le i m meiean i k iii mii: th -me e normal articles, tor; example-articles, thatare oversize, thereby to eliminate the possibility of such abnormal;articles clogging the. discharge chute or! interfering with; themovement, of the normal articles to thechutex ur h r bJC tTS'. 3 rplq idfi simpl-eii'inexpen sive and reliable mechanis nfor. oscillatingfithe.

drum; of the artiole feeding apparatus and taprovide suchdrivemechani-smwhich. shall be. easily andouiclely adjustable-to varythe extent. of oscillation; Other Qbiectsadvantagesand results ofthe.invention will'be. brought out by the followingdescription inconjunctionwiththe 'aoement n iiss ii iw e f :F-igure 1 is. a. front. elevational.View of article feeding apparatus embodying the invention, with portionsbroken away; I

Eigure. 2 is.- r a. vertical longitudinal: sectional view approximatelyon the plane of1;the. linel22 iii re 1 Elgure 3=-is a tragmentarytransverse vertical section view-appro t .ontheplane. of the nett e rtile e n sho n e e i e i. P9e :Q d iQPF r -'5 s a ir emee eitv si ie iiqal e i ne artie w nrex Qlzi m with. ejector chiitean e elter me ed;

Figure 6 is fi emenam .fmni etei e el' Qf edifi ai peeithei eieetien zea i QQ ef rm we. iii h. petr on. p 5

Specifically describingthe embodiment of the invention illustratediii-Figures; 1. to. 5, inclusive, the articlestabe packaged are showninthepforrn of tabletsof. which there are some of normal sizedesignatedfA and sorn'efofrfabnorinal' sizedesi r natedB, disposed inthearticle conyeying drum I having been, dischargediintofone endfoftheconveying; drum by action of gravity from. a hopper .2, as best shownin, Figures 2 and' 3.. Thedru n I is t b ounted: t ame, it of; the. pharatus, A adju table. arti ion i s moun ed: ad. iac u h inlet end iiiheum. On. ewall" o the hopper for control g he mo ement Qf articlespassing'fromthe hep er'to 'thednterior of th rum s;he f t n ;bein g deni a with thatshowninrny eat ntNo..1 ,&n6fl2 22.

The article conveyin drum; l i arran ed w h nei udina exis nch axisofthe'hopper Z soth'at there will be suf fi en p t h to. permit mo e e t.of. he a ic e r l ble j lll l thev dr nii rav y "in ac c -d nq i h thenvent n, the d um'i a ed o rotat d alternat ly in1ope i e directionsout. s xi ep as to. ke the. a le s' rl ar cles in motion, and as shown,theldriving means includes a drive shaft 5;driven fromjanysuitable u e opowe an qnwiii h i k yedan ecce r r n el men 6. ic is ncircledy am n s.a e i iete i'wi stt i hep i uel manh? rae n e e iba' hichm h withapinion I q thatis, fastconnected to a countershaft Ii journaledinbearings it in the machineframe. The raclfi guided f or'reciprocation bya guide-block; l3; which" is 'swing'ably mounted'o ithelfshai tillf'The' e cc'entrie driving e me ii 6 i i feni$ 1 a qit l-z x.-terior" dia'fnete'r' to loosely fit within the eccentric opening} I 5 inthe motion transmitting eccentric i whereby said two eccentricelementscan be adjustecl relativelyeto' each otherto vary-thestroke ofthe 'raclcbar 9. After the'desired a'djustment has been-made'gthedriving "element Sis expanded into tight engagementwiththe Walls ofthe'opening. ISby Vataper'ed screw plug Hi which spreads thedrivingelement l5v at; opposite sides-of the split iii. With; this.construction; 'ifi".Wi11 befobserved that after the two-z eccentricelementsliaand. l have; been. relatively; adjusted; and fastened to-,,

gether to produce the; desired stroke-rotation of h ha t .v will cau e.re iproca ion Qt he a a Send c ll tion. o .rot i n-alt rnately iOpposite i -rec iees-e eir)? i rsha ii.

h coiieiei heii ii a v ne eiieq with the drum I, an: hovgn, his drivingcam d; with; respect tofth'e.

nection comprises a sprocket IT on the countershaft that is connected bya chain [8 through a sprocket l9 rotatable on a jack shaft 20 journaledin the frame 3 beneath the drum. One side of the sprocket 19 has aclutch face which cooperates with the face of a clutch sleeve 2i that isconnected by a pin 22 to a gear 23 which meshes with a ring gear 24secured to the drum l in encircling relation thereto so that when theclutch sleeve 2| is in engagement with the sprocket l9, motion will betransmitted from the sprocket through the clutch sleeve 2!, gears 23 and24 to the drum.

Any suitable means may be utilized for sliding the clutch sleeve 2|, butas shown, a clutch lever 25 is pivotally mounted intermediate it ends onthe frame as indicated at 2B and has one end fitted in a groove 21 inthe clutch sleev and its other end pivotally connected at 28 to one endof a slide rod 29 with which cooperates a spring pawl 39 for holding therod with the clutch in open and closed positions. A suitable chaintightening pulley 3! is preferably provided to maintain the chain intaut condition.

Secured to the inner surface of the drum is a spider member having acentral hub 32 and radiating arms 33, and mounted on the hub i a coversupporting rod 34 which carries adjacent its exterior end a cover plate35 slidably arranged on the rod 34 and held in any desired positionlongitudinally of the rod by any suitable mechanism such as a clampingnut 36.

At its end adjacent the cover 35 the drum i has a flanged portion 31extending an appreciable distance beyond the inner periphery of theopening at the end of the drum and forming with the cover 35 a peripheryarranged tablet or article receiving channel 38 communicating with anarticle or tablet guiding throat 39 which leads to article guide chutes43 which direct the articles to the desired point, for example topackaging apparatus as shown, for example in my United States Patent No.2,374,504.

In operation, the tablets or articles are delivered from the firsthopper 2 into the oscillating drum I through which they move as theresult of the oscillation and gravitational force toward the dischargeend and into the above-mentioned periphery arranged channel 38 where, ifdesired, they assume a nearly vertical position, from where they drop bygravity singly into the chute 39, as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

With feeding apparatus of the character described, means is provided forkeeping the tablets or articles in motion so that the feeding operationmay be uninterrupted by congestion or constriction at any point, andparticularly at the inlet or mouth of the throat 39 Where said throatcommunicates with the article guiding channel 38. For this purpose twoendless belt 44 engage the peripheries of the flange 31 and the coverplate 35 and overlie that portion of the peripheral opening between saidflange 31 and the cover plate 35 below the axis of the drum, except thatzone of said peripheral opening which leads into the throat 39. At eachside of this zon is a roller 45 joumaled on an adjustable bracket 46 onthe frame 3, and each belt 44 passes around one of these rollers andaround other rollers 41 and-48 the latter of which are located above thelevel of the mass of articles in the drum I.

With thisconstruction it will be observed that the belts 44 will befrictionally driven by and moved with the drum l and will prevent artcle 4 from falling from the channel 38 except at the mouth of the chute39.

The cover 35 is adjusted relatively to the peripheral flange 31 topermit feeding of articles of various sizes and shapes, and after thecover has been set for an article of a given size and shape, articles oflarger sizes or abnormal shapes cannot pass freely into the peripheralchannel 38 or into the chute 33, but when such abnormal or oversizedarticles such as indicated at B are present in the conveying drum I, asis often the case, they usually clog the chute and interfere with theproper discharge and feed of the normal articles A. Therefore, anotherfeature of the invention is the provision of means for automaticallyejecting such abnormal articles, and as shown the flange 37 at the endof the drum for approximately one-half of th diameter of the drum islocated in a plane that is disposed inwardly of the drum as indicated at4| beyond the plane of the other portion of the end surface of the drumthat is designated 42, whereby the channel formed between the cover 35and the surface 4! of the drum is wider than the channel 38 between thecover 35 and the surface 42 of the drum and of sufficient width topermit free passage therethrough of the largest articles that it may bedesired to eject. This construction provides a beveled shoulder 43 ateach of the two zones of juncture of the surfaces 4! and 42 so that uponoscillation of the drum, each shoulder will at one limit of oscillationbe moved into the mass of tablets as indicated at X in Figures 3 and 4while at the other limit of oscillation the shoulder will be raised outof and above the mass of articles as shown at Y in Figures 3 and 4. Whenthe shoulder is in the mass of articles, the larger articles may drop bygravity into the channel between the cover plate and the surface 4! asshown at the right hand side of Figure 3 and at the left hand side ofFigure 4, and as the shoulder is elevated to the position Y, the articlewill be raised and dropped by gravity out of the channel as shown at theleft hand side of Figure 3 and at the right hand side of Figure 4. Thearticles will then fall by gravity down the inclined shoulders 43 andinto the discharge chutes 49, the portions of the belts 44 that passover the rollers 48 frictionally impelling the tablets into the chutes.

The drum may be mounted for rotation in any suitable manner, but asshown it is supported on a plurality of roller bearings includingforward bearings 5H engaging a peripheral flange 51 on the drum and rearbearings 52 engaging the peripheral surface of the drum adjacent itsintake end.

The belts 44 may be maintained taut by any suitable mechanism whichforms no part of the present invention.

Unexpectedly the oscillating or back and forth rotation of the drum 1facilitates the lining up of the articles in the channel 33 so that amore continuous and even discharge of the articles is obtained than ispossible with the rotating drum shown in my earlier patents. Moreover,the abnormal articles are emciently and automatically ejected during theagitation and lining up of the normal articles so that interference ofthe feeding of the normal articles by abnormal articles is reduced tothe minimum.

A modification of the invention is shown in Figures 6 and 7. In thisform of the invention the article ejecting mechanism is omitted and asingle belt 53 passes around all portions of the peripheries of thecover plate 54 and the flange 5 p 55 of the drum except those portionsadjacent the throat 59 which isidentical with the throat 38; and thebelt is supported by rollers 51 corresponding to the rollers 45, plusrollers 58 and 59 which may be adjustably supported on the frame of themachine in the same manner as the belt is supported in the machine shownin my Patent No. 1,476,222, or by any other suitable means.

The drum is driven by the same mechanism that has been hereinbeforedescribed so that the drum is oscillated or rotated alternately inopposite directions.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. Article feeding mechanism including a rotary article conveying, drumhaving an article receiving channel at one end one side wall of whichcomprises a portion of the face of a peripheral flange at said end ofthe drum that is in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the drum, saidchannel being of a size and shape to receive articles of a given size,said face of said flange having another portion the plane of which isparallel to but offset from the first plane to form a channel above thefirst-named channel to freely receive articles incapable of freelyentering the first-named channel, there being a shoulder at the junctureof said two portions of said flange and there being also a dischargepassage leading from said channel for the second-named articles, andmeans for rotating said drum so that said shoulder will lift thesecond-named articles through the second-named channel and saiddischarge passage.

2. Article feeding mechanism comprising an article carrying drum mountedto rotate on an inclined axisand having a peripheral concentric arcuatearticle guiding channel at its lower discharge end greater in diameterthan the interior of the drum, there being an article delivery openingleading from said channel, means for rotating the drum alternately inopposite directions to move the articles from the drum into saidchannel, said channel and said article delivery opening being of a sizeand shape to freely receive articles of a given size or shape, and meansfor ejecting from said drum articles of a size and shape incapable offreely entering said channel and including a channel capable ofreceiving the second-mentioned articles and communicating with each endof the first-named channel and having a discharge opening, and means forejecting the second-named articles from the second-named channelsthrough the respective discharge openings.

3. Article feeding mechanism as defined in claim 2, wherein thelast-named means includes a shoulder on said drum projecting into eachof the last-named two channels for ejecting the second-named articlesfrom said last-named two channels through the respective discharge open-4. Article feeding mechanism comprising an article carrying drum mountedto rotate on an inclined axis and having a peripheral concentric arcuatearticle guiding channel at its lower discharge end greater in diameterthan the interior of the drum, means for rotating the drum alternatelyin opposite directions to move the articles from the drum into saidchannel, said channel and said article delivery opening being of a sizeand shape to freely receive articles of a given size or shape, one sidewall of said channel comprising a portion of a peripheral flange on theend of said drum and there being an article delivery opening leadingfrom said channel, means for ejecting from said drum articles of a sizeand shape incapable of freely entering said channel, said meansincluding a channel capable REFERENCES CITED The following referencesare of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,033,291 Thomas July 23, 19121,456,546 Gleason May 29, 1923 1,476,222 Salfisberg Dec. 4, 19231,485,895 Thompson Mar. 4, 1924 1,623,066 Nordstrom Apr. 5, 19271,813,254

Perkins July 7, 1931

